. . . Condemns the killing of 17 soldiers in Delta State

A human rights activist, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman, has called on the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to order for the unconditional release of the Editor, FirstNews Online Newspaper, Mr. Segun Olatunji, condemning the illegal arrest and continued detention of Olatunji over a publication against the men of Nigeria Armed Forces.

Comrade Sulaiman, who is the Executive Chairman of the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ), described the arrest of the Editor as barbaric, undemocratic, unconstitutional, illegal, evil, uncalled for and crime against God and humanity, calling on the lovers of freedom of speech and democracy to rise up in defence of ethos of democratic experiment by strongly condemning the undemocratic and unconstitutional act of the men of Nigeria Armed Forces.

Alleging the men of the Nigeria Armed Forces who were behind the illegal abduction and continuous detention of Olatunji as enemies of democracy and President Bola Tinubu should treat them as such, adding that they just wanted to tag Tinubu’s government as enemy of Nigeria media.

The pro-democracy activist also described Olatunji as a thorough bred Media practitioner who has paid his due by sacrificing and as well contributed immensely in the struggle for returning of the country to the current democracy by using his pen to team up with other others members of fourth estate of realm and lovers of democracy to ensure the military returned back to the barrack to face their constitutional duty of protecting the country from internal and external aggression.

This was contained in a statement issued and made available to newsmen on Thursday by the CHRSJ’S Media Office, disclosed that the action of the security agents, was to gag the freedom of speech by returning the country to the dark days of military era where the life was dark, short and brutish.

Sulaiman, who doubles as Convener, Save Lagos Group (SLG), joined the lovers of the country to strongly condemned the animalistic act of killing no fewer than 17 military officers in Delta State, urging the Government of President Tinubu to ensure justice for the slain soldiers by fishing out the perpetrators of the dastard act.

According to Sulaiman: Any attempt by the military or any other security agents or any institution of the government to gag, harass and intimidate the members of the fourth estate of realm would be resisted by the lovers of our current democracy. We would not accept the Nigeria Army method of returning Nigeria back to the dark days of military era where Nigeria Military incursion into our democratic setting unconstitutionally.”

Sulaiman, therefore, called for immediate and unconstitutional release of Segun Olatunji, without further delaying by the security agent concerned, urging President Tinubu to wade into the alleged illegal arrest of a media guru by setting up the investigation team on the whereabouts of Olatunji for his immediate release, adding that no democracy could survive without free press in any clime.

It would be recalled recently that Olatunji, a former Kaduna Bureau Chief of The PUNCH, was reportedly abducted from his home in Iyana Odo, Abule Egba area of Lagos State penultimate Friday, by gunmen that dressed in a military uniform – presumably over a recent news story that linked to the military officers.